Adam Azim has urged people to "put the knives down and get their gloves up" in an emotional plea against rising knife crime.
Rising star Azim is one of the most exciting names in British boxing and is earning comparisons to the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Amir Khan. The 20-year-old has seven wins on his professional record and has made a huge positive influence in the ring alongside his brother Hassan.
The youngster is aiming for the very top with his gloves on as he plots a world-title surge before the age of 22, in addition to bringing some of the lightweight division's biggest fights to domestic shores. However, he is not just plotting having a huge impact inside of the ring, and has been working on inspiring as many people as possible.
Azim has started by beginning a campaign to lower levels of knife crime in his local area, Slough. This is not just a project he wants to see progress in his hometown, however, as he wants his plan to reverberate around the country as his boxing profile expands.
'The Assassin' told Mirror Fighting: "This issue is important because there is a lot of stabbings around the UK. The level is certainly rising and a lot of people need to know to put the knives down and get their gloves up. If they have anything where they feel they need a weapon, just put it down and realise what you are good at.
"You need to do something you are good at because there is a lot of people who are struggling with this in every area. Just stop what you are doing and get into something you are talented in because you can be anything you want too."
In the year ending March 2022, there was a nationwide 10 per cent increase on offences containing knives or sharp instruments, up to 49,027. Stabbings and knife attacks have become worryingly common, particularly in young people who often come from lower-class backgrounds.
A worrying 18 per cent of knife crimes were committed by offenders between the ages of 10 and 16, according to sentencing statistics by the Ministry of Justice. High-profile figures such as Azim can play a key role in preventing young people from carrying a knife, as they are able to inspire and encourage others to get off the street and apply themselves in things like sport.
Although only in the early stages of life himself, Azim has big future plans to help kick-start his own prevention programme, and believes he can build gyms across the country to help offer young people a unique opportunity to leave the streets.
What do you make of Adam Azim's knife crime prevention plan? Let us know in the comments section below.
He continued: "I just want to help out and I want to build boxing gyms in the UK around a range of different areas, including Slough. This will help people to get off the streets and get into boxing in my case but it doesn't have to be boxing. You can become something that you want to become but boxing is a good discipline to learn."
Although Azim has many ideas to raise the level of his campaign in the future, he also has already put the wheels in motion to spread the word in the same way as many other fighters past and present. The lightweight contender gave up his New Year's Day to begin working his way into the public eye, attending a mosque in Slough to gave a speech.
During the speech, he revealed his intention to build a relationship with a range of different communities where he can help encourage people to do good in their lives. He concluded: "There was an event at the mosque. About 400 people turned up and I had the opportunity to do a speech and gave some good words to them about this exact thing.
"I want to inspire a lot of people and I am doing that in Slough. I want to continue to do that throughout my whole career and help a lot of people by stopping knife crimes, area by area. I believe I can do it by helping people get off the streets and putting their minds to other things."
To get advice on knife crime can contact your local policing team or you can call 101 and ask to speak to your local police force. If you don’t want to speak to police then contact either Crimestoppers or Fearless.
